Minutes of a meeting of Standlake Parish Council, held by telephone/online conference call on 13th October 2020 at 7.30 pm.

Present:

          Mr. B. Parnham   Chairman

          Mr. J. Rippin       Vice Chairman

          Mrs. L. Burton

          Mr. S. Jones

          Mr. D. Bevan       Clerk

Cllr. C. Mathew (OCC), Mr. J Barnas and Finlay Barnas (11)

1.      APOLOGIES – Mrs S. Garrett, Mrs. A. Knipe

2.      DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – There were no declarations of interest.

3.      PUBLIC ITEMS – Finlay Barnas gave a presentation outlining his idea for an expanded skate park at the recreation ground (a PDF file of the presentation was made available to the council ahead of the meeting). He had identified the need to assess interest by canvassing residents, examining layouts, costs and funding options. He was prepared to carry this out and report back to the council. Councillors congratulated him on a professional presentation and the idea was well received. Mr. Parnham suggested that an extension of the existing ramp area rather than taking away any more open field would be more acceptable and looked forward to hearing from him again.

4.      COUNTY & DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS – Mr. Mathew had little to report but said OCC was looking at a deficit of circa £20m because of the effect of COVID19 on the council’s finances. More Government help was promised but not forthcoming so far.

5.      PLANNING

20/02153/S73 : Variation of condition 2 to allow changes to design of Plot 1 comprising attached garage and alterations to internal layout, and removal of condition 4 which revokes permitted development rights, both relating to planning permission 20/01120/FUL: Erection of two detached dwellings and associated operations. Land East Of 90 High Street Standlake: Mrs Georgina Crumlish. No objection

Manor Bungalow notice of appeal. This was expected.

6.      MINUTES - Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday, 8th September 2020, copies of which had been previously circulated to all members, were agreed as a true record and will be signed by the chairman at a later date.

7.      MATTERS ARISING

Sewage/Flooding – Mr. Parnham will contact Thames Water re the provision of tankers in the event of rainfall events such have been seen recently. Mr. Parnham is still chasing OCC Highways for information regarding Woodlands and urging contact with the residents. Mr. Mathew said he had been working behind the scenes with Highways and they are struggling with a solution, but he is urging contact direct with residents.

Roads/Traffic/Speeding /Traffic Calming –Mr. Jones said the first meeting with the sub-committee to set up the Speedwatch scheme had taken place and 3 priorities identified.  Priority 1: purchase of equipment and setting up volunteer groups - Mr. Bond-Smith will purchase the speed gun and recruit the groups; the council will purchase a mobile Speed Indicator Display (SID) unit (see Item 12 below) which will connect to the gun. Speedwatch signs provided by the police will be put up by Absolute Solutions. Priority 2: Mrs. Knipe will research changing the speed limit on the Downs Road. Currently this is the National Speed Limit (60 mph) and a 40 mph limit would seem more sensible. Priority 3: Longer term action will investigate the provision of permanent SIDs (of the type in use on The Downs and Brighthampton) on the Abingdon Road and other traffic calming measures.  Mr. Mathew said he would welcome an application for support from the councillor’s Priority Fund for traffic calming measures.

Playground/Recreation Ground & Maintenance - Mr. Parnham and the clerk have spoken to Absolute Solutions about treating the wooden equipment in the playground. The best time to carry out this work will be in the early spring and estimates will be obtained nearer the time.

Path by Notice board. – awaiting estimate from OCC.

Hornsway Trees and cutting – Mr. Parnham reported that OCC will be meeting with their contactors with a view to commencing tree maintenance and cutting back week commencing 16th November. The planting of the new trees is expected sometime in November, but no estimate has yet been received.

Windrush Pollution – Mrs. Burton has still not received a reply from WASP regarding her request for information; she suggested that a contribution be made to WASP for their work in opposing the discharge of sewage into the Windrush. The clerk will add this to the agenda for the November meeting

Planning White Paper – The council’s response to the ‘Planning for the Future’ White paper was presented to the council (copies circulated earlier) and Mr. Parnham proposed it be accepted and distributed; passed unanimously. Mr. Parnham thanked the clerk for his work in writing this response.

8.      CORRESPONDENCE – Vandalised sign: A resident reported that the ‘Not Suitable for Motor Vehicles’ sign at the junction of Martins Lane and The Downs had been spray painted. Thanks to Mr. Mathew’s intervention the sign will be replaced by OCC. Request for extension to skate park: See Public Items.

9.      ACCOUNTS – the following accounts were approved for payment.

Wai Ming Tang – planning consultant contribution                                                              200.00

Absolute Sols – mowing, car park weed control                                                                   475.00

St Giles church – graveyard maintenance 2nd half                                                             1410.00  

DC Bevan - UK 2 domain registration                                                                                      21.07

DC Bevan – Microsoft 365 annual subscription (79.99)                                                          75.99

DC Bevan – Microsoft 365 subs adjustment                                                                             4.00

Zoom – subscription                                                                                                              143.88  

 

10.   AUDIT REPORT 2019/20 - The 2019/20 external auditor’s report has been received. There was only one comment regarding the marking as ‘Restated’ a figure on which the basis for calculation differed from the previous year. Mr. Parnham proposed that the report be noted and accepted; this was passed unanimously.

11.   BUDGET 2021/22 INITIAL DRAFT - The clerk distributed a copy of the initial draft ahead of the meeting. He drew attention to the quite large surplus from the FY 2019/20 but said a large part of this was funds specifically for the Speedwatch project and Community Fund which he suggested should be identified separately from the Community Fund; there was some discussion about the relative size of the Fund and Speedwatch with Mrs. Burton suggesting the money allocated to Speedwatch being too much. A decision will be made at the November meeting. Mr. Parnham is carrying out a review of the clerk’s salary and this will be considered in the final budget which will be set in November.

12.   SPEEDWATCH EQUIPMENT PURCHASE – As noted in Matters Arising, it is intended that the council purchase a mobile SID to connect with a speed camera. The cost is circa £3000 + VAT, subject to final quote. Mr. Parnham proposed that this be bought with funds from the Community Fund.

13.   COUNCILLOR VACANCY – The resignation of Mrs. Adams has given rise to a vacancy on the council. WODC has been informed and a formal Notice of Vacancy has been displayed on the notice board and social media. If no election is called for by residents before 23rd October 2020 then the council will be authorised to co-opt a new councillor; at that time a request for applicants will be made.

14.   ANY OTHER BUSINESS - The next meeting will be by Zoom conference call on Tuesday 10th November 2020 at 7.30pm.  There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.40 pm.

 

 

....................................................................................... Chairman   .................................................................... Date